Ouran Hogwarts Host Club: Kyoya the Slytherin
by marian-ette92
Summary: Soon after the battle of Hogwarts, a certain Host Club and their growing clientele attempt to weather the storms of school life, and the growing tensions between pure-bloods and muggle-borns.
1. Chapter 1

Eden beamed down at the rat on her desk—an odd reaction, yes, unless you're planning to turn said rat into a water goblet. And Eden was planning on doing it _tremendously_.

She eyed her Transfiguration professor from across the room. But Headmistress McGonagall was too busy observing other students to notice the sixth-year Ravenclaw. Oh well. When she made her rounds she'd notice Eden's improvement, alright—sure as owls delivered letters in the morning. Because Eden _was_ improving, really she was! She'd even managed to turn her friend's toad back when she'd finished practicing on it.

But her problem wasn't toads; her problem was _tails_. No matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to make a tailless goblet. Embarrassing, she thought, considering she was supposed to be in the 'smart' Hogwarts house.

But she going to give it a try, that much she'd decided. So, with hands that only shook ever-so-slightly, she pulled back her dirty blonde hair into a pony tail and lifted her wand, her back as straight as a Nimbus 2000. She took a deep breath.

" _Flintifors,_ " someone whispered—someone definitely _not_ Eden. To her horror, her rat gave a shrill squeak and morphed not into a water goblet, but into a tiny, perfect matchbox.

Eden whirled around in her seat. "Hey, what—?" But as far as she could tell, every student within wandshot was totally preoccupied with his or her own rat. No one stood out as the culprit.

Then she noticed them, two red-headed Gryffindors with identical faces: the Hitachiin twins. By their expressions alone she might not have suspected them; they certainly looked genuinely bored out of their skulls. But their reputation for mischief and mayhem preceded them—not to mention they each had a matchbox sitting in front of them.

She glowered.

A good minute passed before they finally acknowledged her. She maintained her trademark death-stare, which she'd been told on multiple occasions was _utterly_ terrifying. But when the twins didn't react, except to blink at her innocently, she leaned slightly to the left, revealing the matchbox on her desk.

 _Turn it back_ , she mouthed at them.

They shrugged, exchanged a look. _Whatever is she talking about?_ their expressions seemed to say.

"Turn it _back!_ " she hissed, aloud this time, and the Hufflepuff boy next her began to scoot away slowly.

She glowered at him too. He whimpered.

But the brothers' matching faces just went from puzzled to amused—well, 'interested,' anyway; it took more than a death-stare to amuse the Hitachiin twins. Still, they smiled Cheshire Cat smiles as they leaned towards each other. "Do _you_ know how to turn a matchbox back into a rat, Kaoru?" said the twin on the left.

"Why no, I don't, Hikaru," replied twin-on-the-right. "But I can definitely turn it into a box of catnip."

"Say! That's useful!" said Hikaru. "I'm sure McGonagall would prefer catnip, anyway!"

They snickered.

Eden's fingers tightened around her wand. She raised it, knuckles white as she waved it at the twins. " _You_ two," she growled, "are going be catnip yourselves by the time class is over!" But she dropped her hand immediately at the sound of McGonagall's voice—now much closer than it had been a few minutes ago. Oh no. No, no, no, _no!_ She'd started making her rounds! Eden tried to calm herself as she turned back to the twins, and she attempted a different approach.

"Okay, cards on the table. I've kind of been practicing this spell for weeks now, and by some miracle, I think I may have actually mastered it. So if you could please, _please_ do _something_ to fix this before McGonagall comes over, I'd really, _really_ appreciate it."

But the twins just shrugged in unison. "We seriously don't know how," they said.

"And if we did—"

"—we wouldn't tell you."

"It's far too much fun watching Ravenclaws fail at stuff."

Eden's heart sank. Headmistress McGonagall was just three students away, and now Eden had nothing to show for her efforts. A lump the size of the Quidditch pitch formed in her throat. Why did these guys have to be so _mean?_ What had she ever done to them? As her disappointment boiled into anger, she made a cutthroat gesture with her wand and gave the twins one last hate-stare before gazing hopelessly down at her matchbox.

To her astonishment, however, her matchbox had vanished, and in its place now stood a goblet—a perfect, crystal, _tailless_ gasped aloud.

 _What in Merlin's name … ?_

"You shouldn't look so surprised, Miss Wheelock," said Headmistress McGonagall—who had appeared at Eden's desk from what seemed like thin air. "From what I've heard," she continued, "you've been working quite hard to master this spell."

Eden gaped wordlessly at her professor for a moment. Then she closed her mouth with an audible _click_. "Well, um, I _have_ been practicing, but—"

"Well then," said McGonagall with a hint of a smile, "keep up the good work." She moved on.

Eden made a slow 180 in her seat. Whether she was going to thank or obliterate the Hitachiins, she hadn't quite decided yet. But apparently that didn't matter now. They'd already found a new victim to torment: a Gryffindor named Tamaki, who'd fallen out of his chair in attempts to escape the half-rat, half-spider thing that was currently crawling across his desk. _So much for_ _'bravery,'_ thought Eden.

Then, "You're welcome," said a voice, cold and smooth, like a snake. Eden started. Distracted by the twins, she'd hadn't even noticed the boy sitting just behind her. He was a Slytherin, tall—even sitting down—with black hair and sharp eyes framed by a pair of pristine glasses. They glistened as he slid them up the bridge of his nose.

Eden gawked at him wordlessly for two seconds too long. "Um, did you just … ?" She pointed awkwardly at the goblet on her desk.

The boy said nothing. Just smiled.

 _So, yes?_ Eden wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. "Thank you. I mean, I definitely wish I'd been the one to cast that spell, but still. That could have been awkward."

"Indeed." The boy beamed amiably. He had a pleasant smile, handsome as all get out. But there was something slightly off about it, too, something … Eden couldn't quite put her finger on it. She gazed at him, pondering.

But the boy popped her thought bubble with an outstretched hand. "Kyoya," he said, and his eyes vanished in the wideness of his grin.

"Eden."

But Kyoya kept on staring at her long after their handshake dropped. _Have we met before?_ Eden wondered, and in a panic, she thought back on the last six years. They weren't in the same house, so that was out. And while he may have been in her year, she didn't recognize him from any of her other classes. _Unless_ this _is what a Boggart actually looks like_ , she joked to herself. Then she snorted—aloud.

For an impressively brief moment, Kyoya's brow folded into a frown. But this hint of displeasure vanished as he recovered his charming exterior.

"Perhaps you don't remember me. We—"

Then, suddenly, Eden did remember. "Oh, hold on a minute. Of course! You're an Ootori! Your family owns the _Daily Prophet_ , and Flourish and Blotts, _and_ Wynch and Tugg Movers—which I always thought was strange, because you'd kind of _assume_ that someone actually named 'Wynch' and 'Tugg' would—" She stopped herself. "Um, don't our fathers … ?"

"Do business together? Yes. Often." And he smiled again—that pleasant, handsome, almost-believable smile. "I believe you're Eden Wheelock of the esteemed Wheelocks of Wheelock Publishers Incorporated."

Eden's eyes narrowed. "Um," she said.

But before she could find out how Kyoya knew all this, Headmistress McGonagall was calling for attention at the front of the classroom. "Well done, students," she said with a smile. "I'm delighted to see that _some_ of you, at least, have been practicing the spell." She eyed Eden proudly, who shrank back, feeling guilty. "Until next time. Class dismissed."

As the bustle of departing students erupted around her, Eden turned back to thank her new acquaintance again. But he had already packed up and was heading out the door, unaccompanied.

Unaccompanied, that is, until Tamaki Suoh joined him—and, to Eden's surprise, the Hitachi brothers as well.

Eden frowned.


	2. Chapter 2

The Battle of Hogwarts had done a number on the castle— _several_ numbers, in fact. The main doors, the Covered Bridge, and, much to everyone's dismay, the Quidditch Pitch were just a few on a long list of areas now off limits to students—as if there hadn't been enough of those already. But Headmaster McGonagall had assured everyone that repairs were underway, and although the damages were extensive (reaching down to the dungeons in some areas, rumor had it), the castle would be in tip-top shape soon enough.

That said, no mere Mending Charm could do it overnight.

Which was funny, Eden thought, considering Occulus Reconstruction was in charge of the overhaul. "You'd think some sort of mass-Mending Charm would kind of be their thing," she'd joked—to a student who hadn't found that very funny at all. Of course, that was _before_ she'd realized Occulus Reconstruction was yet another branch of the Ootori empire. Naturally she wouldn't have picked Kyoya to joke with had she'd known.

But dealing with her embarrassment would have to wait until later. Right now there were far more pressing matters at hand.

She held up the map a fellow sixth-year had drawn for her. It was _supposed_ to show a shortcut to her Divinations class—at least, that's what she'd been promised. But as she wandered the halls of the seventh floor, it was becoming very clear to her that this 'shortcut' was no shortcut. After all, how many paintings of Ares the Abhorrent could there possibly be? And in one castle? Clearly this map had no intention of serving its intended purpose: she was going in circles.

After ambling past Ares for eight-hundredth time—and enduring yet another long string of medieval curse words—she finally surrendered and tucked the map into her robes. Then she took in her surroundings.

Lined with portrait after portrait, the hallway seemed to stretch infinitely in either direction. Neither would lead her to Divinations, that much she'd gathered. But at this point she'd stopped caring, so she closed her eyes tightly, stretched out her arms, and with an air of self-amusement, she began spinning on the spot. "I'm going to go"—she stopped—" _this_ way!" She opened her eyes.

Then she dropped her wand.

Where there had been once been a hallway there now stood a door, a large double door with intricate iron embellishments and large, iron handle sets.

Eden gaped. Had she accidentally apparated? she wondered frantically. Was there a trap door somewhere that she'd failed to notice on the map? She supposed both were possible … but if neither, then where in _Hogsmeade_ had that door come from?

Picking up her wand, she took a cautious step forward. Then another. Then—

Suddenly from behind her came the sound of running feet. Eden spun on her heel, her wand outstretched, and she let out a shriek that woke every portrait in the hall. Unhappy voices began muttering irritably all around her.

"Can't a painting—?"

"—get any sleep—"

"—around here anymore?"

"Oh, be _quiet!"_ cried Eden, who was trying very hard to find the source of the sound. But from what she could see, there wasn't a soul there with her, not a student, ghoul, or ghost. The Ravenclaw turned full circle. Then she backed against a portrait, who _ahem_ -ed to get her attention.

"Madam?" he said, his large moustache twitching with amusement.

Eden turned on him, wand shaking. She'd have yelled at him too, but then she saw that he was pointing at something. Her eyes followed the direction of his finger. At first she saw nothing in the dimly lit hall. Then, suddenly, there they were: a pair of disembodied shoes. Eden paled. She opened her mouth to scream again.

"Takashi, you're scaring her!" came a voice from near the ceiling. Eden's head snapped up.

"Sorry," something replied from the same general direction. If the first voice had been childlike in that it was high and expressive, then this voice was just the opposite: deep and monotone, like a robot's. Eden gulped as her mind's eye fashioned a creature, a two-headed giant who could turn itself invisible— _except for its shoes!_ her imagination added forebodingly.

Um.

"Let's get out of here!" whispered the childlike voice.

"Right," said the robot, and the shoes ran past her.

Well, at least she wasn't crazy; there really _was_ a door there. She watched it swing open just enough for the shoes to slip through. Then, with a loud groan, it began to fall shut again, and, to Eden's horror, fade away.

"W-wait!" she cried, and she broke into a sprint. She thrust her arm through the opening, wincing in anticipation of the pain she would feel—the large, heavy door would reduce her bones to splinters, she was certain of it. She squeezed her eyes shut.

But the pain never came, much to her astonishment. She opened her eyes one at a time and peered up.

A giant! She'd been _right!_ Except, well, this one wasn't double-headed, nor was he invisible. In fact, except for his staggering height, he very well could have passed for a fellow Hogwarts student. Eden gawked at him, dumbstruck. Should she call for help? she wondered. Then she saw that his large, square shoulder was what had kept the door from crushing her.

Suddenly, a shorter, blonde boy appeared between the giant's tree-like legs. "Hello!" he chirped. Ah, the childlike voice. "Are you coming in?"

Eden wasn't quite sure how to respond. After all, she certainly _looked_ like she was on her way in. "Well, um, perhaps—" she began, but with one word from shorty, the giant pushed the door open and pulled Eden in after them. She gave a low, quiet groan as the door closed behind her.

She was standing, to her amazement, in long, low-ceilinged room lined with windows and pillars. A bright red carpet ran down its center at the end of which was a fireplace—and a hearty-looking fire, Eden noted with delight. But before she could move towards it, she noticed four figures off to the side. They were huddled around something from which pale pink smoke was billowing, a smoke that smelled strongly of peppermint and roses.

"Wait a minute," said Eden, stepping forward. "Hikaru, Kaoru. What are _you_ two doing here?"

The Hitachiin twins looked up at her, their faces glowing in the cauldron light. "Uh, boss?" They tapped the shoulder of the boy beside them, who turned. He was handsome, blonde, and tall—although now that Eden had met a giant, she realized she'd have to reevaluate her definition of that word. At first, the boy just stared at her. Then something seemed to come over him, something _frighteningly_ passionate, and in a single, elegant bound, he was kneeling at her feet.

"Forgive our unpreparedness!" he said wretchedly, taking her hand. "I'm afraid you've caught us before hours. We usually don't expect guests until after classes are over—especially not ones quite so lovely as _you_ are." He lifted Eden's hand to his mouth, then, and kissed it. Eden squeaked. "My name is Tamaki. Yes, yes, _the_ Tamaki. And what is your name, my princess?"

She laughed nervously, freeing her hand. "Um, it's—"

"Well, Eden Wheelock. My, my, my," said an all-too-familiar voice. A chill ran down Eden's spine as she peered over Tamaki's shoulder. _Oh no. No, no, no. Not_ —

But that was Kyoya Ootori standing beside the cauldron. He was leaning against a pillar, his expression innocently cheerful (though after yesterday's blunder Eden was sure he couldn't actually be pleased to see her).

She tried to look apathetic as she nodded his way. "Kyoya Ootori," she said stiffly. "How … odd to see you here."

"Odd?" said Kyoya pleasantly. "In what way?"

"Well, okay, for onething," said Eden, "we're all standing in a room that appeared out of nowhere. Can we talk about that? Also, would someone mind explaining to me where the _hellebore_ I am?"

Shorty, who had clambered onto the giant's shoulders and was seated there very comfortably, raised a hand high in the air. "Excuse me, what's a hellebore?" His chocolate-drop eyes blinked innocently.

But before Eden could answer—"An essential ingredient in the Draught of Peace potion," said Kyoya from across the room. "It combines approximately twenty species of—"

"You, my fair lady, are in the Room of Requirement," Tamaki interrupted. "And as it only ever appears for those who truly are in need of it, I have deducted that _you_ , Miss Wheelock, are in need of"—he pointed at her dramatically—"the Ouran Hogwarts Host Club!" As if trained to respond to this, every member struck a pose—everyone, of course, except Eden. And Kyoya.

Was Eden supposed to be impressed? she wondered as they stared at her seductively. Because she was sure she probably would have been, if she knew what a 'host club' even was.

"You've met the Hitachiin twins, of course," said Tamaki, resuming his non-pose stance. "Hikaru and Kaoru."

They winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"And I'm guessing you know Kyoya as well." He motioned for Kyoya to join them. But the Slytherin didn't budge. He just stood there, watching Eden over what she realized was a notepad. He was scribbling on it furiously.

"The tall one," Tamaki continued, "is seventh-year Takashi 'Mori' Morinozuka. And up there on his shoulders is Mitsukuni 'Honey' Haninozuka, also a seventh-year."

Eden's jaw dropped. These Hufflepuffs were in the same year? No way. She'd have pegged Honey for a third-year, tops. She glanced over the room's occupants. "Well, it was nice to meet you all, I guess—even if some of you have a tendency to be invisible now and again." Feeling increasingly awkward, she started to back towards the door. "I'm sorry for barging in. I didn't realize that this was … um." She fumbled for the door handle. "What I mean is, I didn't _mean_ to come across your—well, this place. I swear the door just kind of appeared out of nowhere."

"Actually, it appears to anyone who requires it," said Kyoya, who had emerged from the shadows and was now at her side. "Which begs the question, Miss Wheelock." He leaned towards her. "What is it that you require?"

His tone stank of a double meaning. "Look," she said haughtily, "I don't know what you're implying, but whatever it is, I don't—hey, what is Tamaki holding?"

Kyoya glanced back at his fellow host club member, who had briefly returned to the cauldron with the twins. The Gryffindor was holding something over it, a plant, small and celery-like. Eden squinted. It looked like … no, it couldn't be. No one would be so stupid as to put _that_ in a love potion. _Seriously, though,_ she thought, _I could swear that looks like_ —

"Woah, _hey!_ STOP!" She pushed past Kyoya and made a dive towards the cauldron. She caught the plant mid-air just as Tamaki's hand released it.

"Are you kiddingme?" she shouted, holding the plant against her chest. " _Lovage?_ Good grief, do you realize what that would have done to anyone who drank this?"

It seemed no one had an answer, not even the knowledgeable Kyoya Ootori. Eden drank this brief moment in before, finally, Tamaki admitted, "Well, no, I don't, but"—he chuckled nervously—"well, it's called 'Lovage,' so, I kind of just assumed it would—"

Eden slapped her forehead. "Tamaki, you can't just go throwing stuff into your potions because it _sounds_ right! Lovage is one of the main ingredients in Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts. To put it in a love potion would have made the drinker beyond delusional—maybe even dangerous, to themselves and to others!" Upon seeing his guilty expression, she took his hand and placed the plant back in it. "You have to be more careful. Potions isn't a joke."

Nobody moved for a good minute afterwards. Then, suddenly, Eden felt the presence of someone standing right behind her. She spun around. Kyoya was looming over her like a tall, devilish shadow.

"Very impressive, Miss Wheelock," he said, and he smiled a _different_ smile. "I'd like to make you a deal."


	3. Chapter 3

Though she'd _intended_ to study for a Charms test the next morning, Eden spent breakfast scanning the Great Hall for a certain 'host club' instead.

Mori was an easy find at the Hufflepuff table, and by default she found Honey next, who was seated happily beside his friend, downing cake by the slice—for breakfast? Yeah, she _still_ wasn't convinced this kid was a seventh-year. Next she spotted Tamaki at the Gryffindor table, and a little ways down, Hikaru and Kaoru.

All of them, unsurprisingly, were surrounded by girls.

Everyone, that is, except for Kyoya, who had tucked himself away at the far corner of the Slytherin table. It wasn't that he'd gone unseen—Eden rolled her eyes as she watched a group of fourth-year girls ogling him from her own house table. The difference was that there seemed to be this general understanding throughout the student body: you didn't just go up and _talk_ to Kyoya Ootori. He was too important, too cool to sully himself with _normal_ people. Eden rolled her eyes.

But she didn't look away. Even when his glasses glistened in her direction.

Suddenly, something dropped onto her plate of untouched food. Merlin's pants, she hadn't even noticed the owls fly in.

"Sebby, you scared me!" she said with a vocal exhale. Sebastian, her beautiful spectacled owl, cocked his head expectantly. But when Eden didn't reward him, he resorted to moodily picking at her cold toast while she peeled the letter he'd brought away from her Yorkshire pudding. It was from her father. She took her time tearing it open.

 _Eden,_

 _Your mother and I have finally returned from Japan. The trip was an exhausting one, but well worth our time. It's been two years at least since we last saw Yoshio Ootori in person. He's a fine man, and a fine business partner._

Eden frowned. The Ootoris?What did the Ootoris have to do with anything?

She gulped. Unless …

 _His two eldest sons are no longer attending Hogwarts, or I'd, of course, send you their way. However, I do believe Yoshio's third son, Kyoya, is a sixth-year, like you. I don't think I need to explain to you why it would benefit our family for you to seek him out. You're a beautiful girl. I'm sure you won't have any trouble winning him over._

 _We await an update of your progress soon. Take care._

 _Father_

Eden slammed her fist down on the table (and Sebastian flew off with a resentful screech). She _hated_ this. She _hated_ getting these kinds of requests from her father. Was this really all she was to him? A pawn in his cold, twisted business games? How could he treat her like this? How could he be so unabashedly _scheming_?Well, deal or no deal, she'd be damned if she ever spoke with Kyoya or any of the host club ever again. Nearly shaking with fury, she snatched up her book bag and turned to leave.

But someone was looming over her, someone clad in school robes with a hint of green and silver.

Eden crushed the piece of parchment in her fist. "What do _you_ want?" she blurted.

Kyoya's eyebrows raised a half-fraction. "Did I interrupt something, Miss Wheelock?"

The Ravenclaw stuffed the letter into her book bag and forced herself to smile. "Just a letter from home. Nothing important. Now if you'll excuse me. I have class in half an hour." She tried to move around him, but he stepped into her path.

"We haven't arranged the details of our deal yet."

Eden clenched and unclenched her fists. "Well, I suppose Tamaki will just have to figure out Potions all on his own, because as it turns out, I'm doing quite well in Transfiguration these days."

Kyoya smiled amiably. "Is that so? Because from what _I_ heard, you never did manage to turn that teapot back into a snail. Which leads me to wonder—whatever were you planning to do for our test on Friday?"

Eden's mouth fell open. "Y-you _heard_? _"_ she stammered."From who? It is _none_ of your business how I'm doing in that class!"

"Actually, I've made it my business to know," said Kyoya. "For Tamaki's sake, of course," he added innocently. "I'm concerned he might blow himself up one of these days."

Well, he had a point there. But Eden wasn't about to let herself get roped into two sinister schemes, not in one morning. "Oh, of course," she jeered, "for Tamaki'ssake." She folded her arms across her chest. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to do here, but whatever it is, I don't like it and I _don't trust you!"_

To her surprise, the Slytherin seemed to relax then—as if not being trusted relieved him, somehow. "Well," he said, closing the space between them. "I don't think _either_ of us can afford that, now can we?"

Eden whipped her wand out so quickly it whistled. She pressed the point against his chest, eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed. "Whatdid you say?" she growled.

Kyoya said nothing—

—his attentions having been drawn to something behind her. Eden turned. A group of students were making their way towards them. In the lead was a Hufflepuff boy, tall and stocky with sandy-blonde hair. Two Gryffindor boys, a Ravenclaw boy, and a Hufflepuff girl followed closely behind him. Eden didn't recognize any of them.

But the Hufflepuff boy certainly seemed to know her; he came to stand beside her as if they were old friends. "Is this guy bothering you?" he asked her calmly. His posse waited patiently in a cluster on the side.

"Hardly," said Eden. The corner of Kyoya's mouth twitched.

But the boy didn't buy it. "Are you bothering her?" he asked Kyoya.

"Hardly," Kyoya replied, matching Eden's acidic tone. "In fact, I was just about to—"

"You know, you've got a lot of guts," said the Hufflepuff to Eden, "drawing your wand against the mighty _Kyoya Ootori_."

Eden was surprised by the bitterness in his tone, paired as it was with a good-natured expression. Perhaps he'd meant it as a joke. "I can handle myself," she said, tucking her wand back into her robes.

The Hufflepuff winked and smiled broadly. "Oh, I've no doubt that you can. I'm Merek, by the way. Merek Fletcher."

"Eden."

"A pleasure, I'm sure. Well, I'm sorry if we're intruding. It's just that my friends and I can't abide bullying when we see it." He shot Kyoya a pointed look.

Eden's gut reaction, shockingly enough, was to come to Kyoya's defense. Sure, he was driving her Ballycastle-Batty, but clearly Merek's history with him went far deeper than this conversation. Whatever quarrel he had with Kyoya was not hers. On the other hand, she'd never met anyone so utterly unaffected by Kyoya's … well, whatever it was that made the world worship him. Curious, she kept her mouth shut.

"I'm sure you and I could spend all day arguing about who's bullying who," said Kyoya. "But considering you're head of the Dueling Club these days"—he pulled his wand out and began twirling it between his fingers—"I'm sure we can find a way to deal with this like civilized wizards."

Merek didn't seem particularly fond of this idea, although he hid his displeasure well. "Tell you what." He clapped Kyoya on the shoulder. "Why don't you join us this afternoon? We'll be meeting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom—just our little group here. We're prepping for a dueling demonstration we'll be holding in a couple of weeks."

Kyoya chuckled darkly. "I think not."

"Well, then, what about your friend here?"

Kyoya's displeasure was uncharacteristically clear. "Me?" said Eden, ignoring him. "You want _me_ to come?"

"Of course! The Dueling Club needs plucky wizards like you to show them how it's done—don't we?" He turned to his friends, who smiled and nodded obediently. The only exception was one of the Gryffindor boys. He winked at Eden, who cracked a smile in return.

"Well, I suppo—"

"Eden, I don't think that's a good idea."

Eden laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, you don't, do you, Kyoya? And why is that?"

When Kyoya didn't reply, Merek cut in. "Oh, don't mind Kyoya. He's always been a wand in the mud. Well? What do you say? Are you in?"

Eden opened her mouth to say something—to accept, she'd decided—but another group was quickly approaching from the other side of the Great Hall. Now, _this_ group Eden knew. She groaned inwardly.

"Everything alright, here?" said Tamaki. The rest of the host club lined up behind Kyoya in a semi-circle. Apparently you didn't mess with one host without messing with all of them.

Kyoya smiled. "Of course. Miss Wheelock and I were just arranging the details of our deal."

Eden glared at the Slytherin, but Tamaki's gleeful expression was just too much to shut down. "Oh, thank goodness!" he said. "My Ageing potion needs to be perfect by tomorrow—but so far all I've managed to do is turn someone's toad into a tadpole!"

"Well, what's wrong with that?" asked the Ravenclaw boy from Merek's posse.

"The toad aged in the wrong direction," said Eden. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, you've probably got your ingredients mixed up. Lucky for you the effects should be temporary. Unless you traded Boomslang for Bloom Berry. Which"—she laughed—"only an _idiot_ would …" She stopped herself when she saw Tamaki's expression. "Oh."

"So, you see, Merek," said Kyoya, placing a hand on Eden's shoulder. "I'm afraid Miss Wheelock is booked for the afternoon. Which means you'll have to find someone else to practice on."

'Practice on'? What was that supposed to mean? Apparently she wasn't about to find out, as it seemed Merek and co. had given up on her after all. "Whoa, alright, then," said Merek. "We won't get in your way—Miss Wheelock, charmed." He bowed elaborately and winked. "The invitation still stands for next week, of course."

"I'll be there!" said Eden hurriedly, earning herself a withering scowl from Kyoya. Sheesh, what was this guy's _problem_?

The Dueling Club left.

Cringing, Eden slowly turned to face the rest of the host club. They were smiling down at her—with the exception of Honey, who was staring up—in a way that could only be described as sinister. "Um, hey, guys. What's new?"

Hikaru and Kaoru, each with an arm resting on the other's shoulder, leaned forward.

"Trying to back out of a deal, eh?" said one.

"The host club not good enough for you anymore, _eh?_ "

"Gonna let Tamaki fail Potions because of a crush, _eeehhhhhhh_?"

Eden blushed. "What? No! I wasn't—I mean, I didn't"—she growled—"you guys have it all wrong!"

Meanwhile, Tamaki's face had completely fallen. He was leaning against Kyoya's shoulder now, sniffing pathetically. "You were going to … let me … _fail?_ " he whimpered.

Eden rolled her eyes. "Oh, all RIGHT!" She laughed a little, then—she couldn't help herself. "Holy Honeywater, you guys are ridiculous! Fine. I'll meet you guys in the Room of Requirement after classes are over. Happy?"

In a heartbeat, Tamaki's whole outlook on life seemed to change. He began jumping up and down, shouting, "BRAVO! EDEN! MY PAL! _MON AMI!"_

It was embarrassing, to say the least. But as Eden hurried out of the Great Hall, well aware that the eyes of every single student were on her now, she couldn't help but smile to herself. _So many new friends,_ she thought, _and the day's only just started._


End file.
